Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	Craig Weinaug, Douglas County Administrator Diane Stoddard, Lawrence Interim City Manager Gary Ortiz, Eudora City Manager Glenn Rodden, Baldwin City Manager Lynley Sanford, Lecompton City Clerk
CC:	MPO Policy Board , MPO Technical Advisory Committee , MPO Regional Transit Advisory Committee
FROM:	Jessica Mortinger, MPO Senior Transportation Planner Ashley Myers, MPO Transportation Planner
DATE:	January 12, 2015
RE:	Federal Transportation Act- Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act Summary

Background

President Obama signed into law a new long-term surface transportation authorization for highway, highway safety, transit, and rail/freight programs on December 4, 2015 called the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The FAST Act represents the first time in a decade that Congress approved a five year transportation funding bill. The FAST Act appropriates $305 billion from the Highway Trust Fund and the US Treasury general fund over federal fiscal years 2016 through 2020. After several years of flat funding, the FAST Act provides modest increases – highway funding increases by 15% and transit funding increases by 18% over the five-year life of the bill.

Program Changes

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) interpretation of the new law will determine the ultimate impact on the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization (L-DC MPO) and local governments in the region. While the FAST Act is a new authorization, it does not alter many of the changes that the prior transportation legislation, MAP-21, made. It is anticipated that the performance measure regulations from MAP-21 will continue in the FAST Act.

We currently anticipate much of the new transportation authorization to not affect the Lawrence – Douglas County MPO, instead impacting the State or other larger MPOs. However, there are a couple of changes that will have impacts on local governments in the region:

· The Surface Transportation Program (STP) was renamed to the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP). Local STBGP funding sub-allocated by population will increase by 1% every year, starting at 51% in 2016 increasing to 55% by 2020.

· The Transportation Alternatives funding is now a part of the STBGP as a “Set-aside” program of the block grant named the Surface Transportation Block Grant Set-aside Program. State DOTs can transfer 50% of their “Set-aside” to STBGP for all project types, not specifically bike, pedestrian, or other alternative projects.

The table below shows the changes between the old transportation legislation (MAP-21) and the new FAST Act.

Funding Program Name
Funding Intent	MAP-21	FAST Act
Flexible funding for highways, bridges, pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure, and transit	Surface Transportation Program (STP)	Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP)
Funding for bike, pedestrian, and other alternative projects	Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP)	No longer a separate funding source- incorporated into the STBGP as a “Set-aside”

The U.S. DOT released the following information pertaining to the FAST Act’s priorities.

· Project Delivery: The FAST Act has elements to speed the permitting processes while still protecting environmental and historic treasures and also codifying the online system to track projects and interagency coordination processes.

· Freight: The FAST Act established both formula and discretionary grant programs to fund critical transportation projects that would benefit freight movements. The discretionary grant program has a minimum project cost of $100 million. 10% of the total funding is reserved for small projects and 25% is set aside for rural projects.

· Innovative Finance Bureau: The FAST Act established a new National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau within the DOT to serve as a one-stop shop for state and local governments to receive federal funding, financing or technical assistance.

· Safety: The law helps bolster the DOT’s safety oversight of transit agencies and also streamlines the Federal truck and bus safety grant programs, giving more flexibility to States to improve safety in these areas. Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds for non-infrastructure safety programs, such as education and enforcement activities is no longer eligible.

· Transit: The FAST Act reinstated the bus discretionary grant program and strengthened the Buy America requirements that promote domestic manufacturing through vehicle and track purchases. Furthermore, cooperative procurements are enabled and increased formula funds are available.

· Bridges: The FAST Act makes more federal-aid highway dollars available to locally owned highways and bridges through the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) and the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP).

Additional information regarding each mode of transportation and how it will affect local governments and the MPO will be known as the law is interpreted by the U.S. DOT and implemented by KDOT. The MPO staff will closely monitor how the regulations are being interpreted and implemented by the U.S. DOT and KDOT. We will keep all pertinent parties apprised of potential impacts. Please contact Jessica Mortinger at jmortinger@lawrenceks.org or 785-832-3165 if you have further questions.